Good morning everyone,

Today's task is a reading task about weather. First, read the following article carefully. Second, underline unfamiliar vocabulary, write them down, and guess the meanings from context or use a dictionary to find the meanings. Lastly, answer the tasks below.

A Weather Illness Myth

When it comes to taking the blame for causing colds or the flu, experts say weather simply gets a bad rap.

Cold weather does not in fact cause a person to get sick. That’s because cold and flu viruses are spread by direct or indirect contact with respiratory secretions. Direct contact could happen through handshaking, for example, and indirect contact by being coughed or sneezed on.

Colds and the flu are especially common in the winter not because of the cold weather, say experts with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Maryland, U.S., but because people spend more time indoors where viruses have a greater opportunity to spread from one person to another.

Children are especially vulnerable to getting colds because they haven’t built up resistance against many cold or flu strains, which is why they can typically suffer from six to eight colds per year. Adults over 60, meanwhile, suffer from the fewest colds – about one a year – because they have a well-established immunity to many cold strains.

While the cold weather cannot cause you to get a cold or the flu, the dry air that accompanies winter may have an impact. Dry conditions may increase the chance of infection because viruses can thrive when humidity levels are low, according to NIAID. Furthermore, since nasal passages are drier, they may be more susceptible to infection.

Since germs are transmitted through direct contact, hand washing is key to preventing both colds and the flu. Regularly cleaning household surfaces with disinfectants can also make a difference, experts say.

From: Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care, collection of re-printable articles

1. Bad rap                            
2. respiratory
3. secretions
4. sneezed on
5. vulnerable
6. flu strain
7. thrive
8. susceptible

Task 1: Vocabulary Building

Find the words below in the text. Then write the correct number on each line to match each word to its meaning.

1. respiratory (par. 2) F	a. the fight against something
2. secretions (par. 2) D	b. passed from one person to another
3. vulnerable (par. 4) J	c. protection against a disease
4. resistance (par. 4) C	d. liquids released by humans
5. immunity (par. 4) A	e. easily hurt or attacked
6. transmitted (par. 6)F	f. related to breathing
7. impact (par. 5) I	g. grow or increase
8. thrive (par. 5)  E	h. passages inside the nose
9. susceptible (par. 5) G	i. affect or influence
10. nasal passages (par. 5) H	j. at risk

Task 2: Idioms

The idioms below are related to being sick. Decide (and check off) whether they refer to someone who is somewhat ill or very ill, and check off the appropriate box.

Idiom                                                              Somewhat ill                         Very ill

1. To be not quite oneself   I am not quite my self today.

2. To be sick as a dog        He is sick as a dog because of bad weather.

3. To be under the weather  I  will not be attending the party because i am feeling a bit under the weather.

4. To have a bug                 I think he caught the bug because he has enough money now.

5. Not feeling 100 per cen   I am feeling too much cold and headache i am 100per cent sure i am getting sick.

Task 3: Practice

Complete the sentences below with the correct idiom. Use the idiom in the right form. More than one idiom can be used for some sentences.

1. Margaret didn't come to work today. I think she may be not quite herself

2. I  was feeling a bit under the weather I’d rather stay home tonight.

3. Nora must .be sick as a dog.. She was sneezing all day yesterday and today she is not at work.

4. Our trip to Mexico was a disaster. Mike lost his wallet and I have a bug for three days.

5. I am not feeling well 100 per cen I think I’ll go straight to bed as soon as I get home.

Task 4: Proofreading

Proofreading and editing are one essential skill to have effective writing. Ask two or three classmates to proofread your work and you do the same thing for them before publishing your work.